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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26760439">Wake Up</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Random_Nerd3/pseuds/Random_Nerd3'>Random_Nerd3</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>JatP Whumptober 2020 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Julie and The Phantoms (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Bittersweet, Emily Also Found Out About Unsaid Emily, Emily Is Concerned For Her Son, Gen, He Got A Coma Instead Of Dead, Hurt/Comfort, Luke Wakes Up, M/M, Pansexual Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Past Relationship(s), SOFT GAYS, Sort Of, Supportive!Bandmates, Whumptober 2020, does it count if it's only one wrist?, it was all a dream, shackled, there are tears</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 13:28:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,761</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26760439</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Random_Nerd3/pseuds/Random_Nerd3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Reggie and Alex survived the food poisoning, but Luke got put into a medically induced coma. When he wakes up one month later he has a hard time accepting the harsh truth: nothing that happened while he was a ghost actually happened.</p><p>Now Edited and Extended</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alex &amp; Bobby | Trevor Wilson &amp; Luke Patterson &amp; Reggie, Alex/Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Luke Patterson &amp; Reggie &amp; Willie (Julie and The Phantoms)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>JatP Whumptober 2020 [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949821</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>286</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Wake Up</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hi!</p><p>Welcome to my Whumptober collection! Things this year will mostly be centered around Julie and Her Himbos, but I might stray off the beaten path and write a Witcher fic or HSMTM fic here and there. I never know tbh.</p><p>Enjoy!</p><p>~ R</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>When Luke came to his senses he heard the faint beeping sound of a heart rate monitor to his right, and the sound of his dad snoring to his left. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What the hell is going on?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Luke wondered as he realized his arms were tied down to the hospital bed. “Mitch, he’s waking up!” Emily exclaimed, and the sound of his mom’s clacking heels crossing the floor sounded in his ears. Luke slowly opened his eyes, furrowing his eyebrows together in confusion. His dad snorted awake and Luke was smothered by hugs from both of his parents. He was just at the Orpheum, performing with Julie and the others. Why the </span>
  <em>
    <span>hell</span>
  </em>
  <span> was he in the hospital with his parents? How the hell was he even </span>
  <em>
    <span>alive</span>
  </em>
  <span>? “Luke, Luke honey can you hear me?” Emily asked, concern laced in her voice. She looked younger, much younger than the version of her he spent so much time with after he died. Luke tried to return her hug, but could only give her half a hug due to his other wrist being handcuffed against the bed. The metal bit against his skin and he winced at the sensation. His mom and dad wrapped their arms around him tightly, like he was the only thing in the world that mattered to them.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mom? What happened?” Luke asked. He couldn’t help but wince at the sound of his own voice, it sounded hoarse and dry... He wouldn’t be able to sing for </span>
  <em>
    <span>weeks,</span>
  </em>
  <span> much less perform with Julie again. His mom just sobbed and clutched his shoulders in a viper-like grip, accidentally digging her fingernails into his skin through his t-shirt. He looked to his dad, who wordlessly handed him the newspaper that was lying on the bedside table. His dad looked… older, like his mom did… but still not as old as the version for him from twenty-five years ago. Both of his parents looked tired, exhausted, like they’d been pulling all-nighters at work for days on end. Luke took the paper and checked the date. According to the paper it was one month after the day Sunset Curve was supposed to perform at the Orpheum. One month after their </span>
  <em>
    <span>original</span>
  </em>
  <span> performance date.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One month after he thought he died… in the year nineteen-ninety-five.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Luke’s eyebrows furrowed closer together as he scanned the newspaper, trying to see it was some sort of sick prank Caleb was pulling on him. The newspaper seemed genuine though… so did the rest of his hospital room, and his parents… there’s no </span>
  <em>
    <span>way</span>
  </em>
  <span> Caleb would’ve stooped so low as bringing them into the ghost world before their time. Luke ran his free hand through his hair as he tried to process what his current predicament could mean. “We thought you were going to die!” His mom cried out, leaning forward to plant a kiss on the top of his head. She cradled him in her arms, refusing to let him go.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mom, where’s Julie?” Luke asked, trying to stay focused. “And Reggie and Alex? They’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>here</span>
  </em>
  <span> right? I didn’t just… dream everything?” He had to get back there, back to his band, back to </span>
  <em>
    <span>her</span>
  </em>
  <span>. His mom just looked as confused as he felt.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Honey, Alex, Reggie, and Bobby are in the waiting room but… sweetie, who’s Julie?” She asked, watching him with another layer of forehead wrinkles growing on her face. Luke just stayed silent, nothing was making sense. He </span>
  <em>
    <span>knew</span>
  </em>
  <span> the whole ghost thing happened. He died, Alex died, Reggie died. Everything was too solid, it was too </span>
  <em>
    <span>real</span>
  </em>
  <span>. They were alone for twenty five years before meeting Julie, and Luke just needed to make sure she was </span>
  <em>
    <span>safe</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He tried to move his arms, but they were still chained to the bed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mom, why am I chained to the bed?” He asked, gesturing to the handcuff. His mom winced,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Sorry about those,” she said apologetically. “You woke up from the coma a few weeks ago… the doctor said you got violent so he had to restrain you. Something about you yelling about a man named Caleb?” She asked, settling back into the hospital chair next to his dad’s. They sat in silence for a few minutes as Luke tried to compile his thoughts. Everything he experienced with Julie, Bob - </span>
  <em>
    <span>Trevor</span>
  </em>
  <span> stealing their songs, Caleb’s ghost club… it was all apart of some coma dream? Pushing his concerns aside Luke took the chance to talk to his mom, even if it was possibly a Caleb-thing Luke knew he had to say what he could, now that they were given the extra time together.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mom I made a promise to myself…” He said, trailing off. He was so,</span>
  <em>
    <span> so </span>
  </em>
  <span>close to finally be home again. He just had to take one more leap of faith... “I’m so sorry I ran away mom,” he said, eyes pooling with unspilled tears. Emily gave him a watery smile in response,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know sweetie. Bobby brought us your songbook after… After Reggie and Alex recovered they played the song you wrote for me. They said it was called Unsaid Emily?” A tear rolled down her face, “it really is a beautiful song Luke. I’m so sorry we made you feel like you had to run away in the first place.” Luke tensed, he never meant for the band to actually play that song, for his mom to find out he wrote it. His mom reached into her bag then pulled out his songbook from her purse and handed it to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He ran his free hand over the cover, beaten up stickers taped to it from performance venues, song titles and crossed-off band names scribbled in sharpie covering whatever company logo used to be on it. The binding was held together by black duct tape, the pencil he kept clipped to the side was still there. His last flicker of hope rested within the pages of his songbook. Caleb might be able to put Luke in a different universe, but if Julie </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> real, and not just a figment of his imagination, he’d have scribbled the bare bones of songs he and Julie were supposed to have written together. Try as he might, Caleb would never be able to destroy Luke’s love for music. With his free arm Luke managed to feverishly flick through the pages until he reached the part of the book that was supposed to be reserved for Julie to write in... The pages were blank, </span>
  <em>
    <span>Perfect Harmony, Wake Up, Great…</span>
  </em>
  <span> hell, even </span>
  <em>
    <span>Bright…</span>
  </em>
  <span> They were all gone, like nothing even happened.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait… a coma?” He asked, finally processing what his mom said. He hesitated, fingers tracing the empty pages where </span>
  <em>
    <span>Perfect Harmony</span>
  </em>
  <span> was supposed to be written. Even now, the lyrics and Julie’s angelic voice filtered through the back of his mind. “So it was all a dream?” He asked, deflating against the pillows supporting his back. His mom looked concerned, placing a hand on his handcuffed wrist.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What was all a dream?” She asked. Just as he was about to answer the door burst open and Reggie, Alex, and Bobby rushed into the room. A girl hung back with Bobby as Reggie and Alex pounced on Luke’s bed, landing on top of him with matching </span>
  <em>
    <span>oomphs.</span>
  </em>
  <span> Her name was in the back of Luke’s mind but he just couldn’t seem to remember what it was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“Luke!” They all cried, crushing him under their weight. Reggie was on his right, while Alex squeezed on top of him. Alex punched his shoulder saying,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re an idiot. Don’t fucking get food poisoning again okay?” Luke’s knuckles turned white as he gripped his songbook tighter, the only fabricated proof of their time as ghosts was gone… and the only proof he even wrote the songs with Julie were the melodies that spun around in his head. Luke shifted his gaze to Bobby, who was standing awkwardly, shuffling his feet. The girl gave him a small wave, so Luke nodded at her. Alex planted a soft kiss against Luke’s forehead, and Luke’s brain short circuited. When they got turned to ghosts they broke up, they were planning on doing it after Sunset Curve’s Orpheum performance, but those plans got botched because of the whole dying (fake dying?) thing. A look of hurt crossed Alex’s face and Reggie spoke up,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know who we are, right?” Reggie asked, taking a hesitant step forward. Luke nodded and put on a brave face,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah Reggie. How could I ever forget my band?” He asked. His band, but it wasn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span> band… not if Julie wasn’t in it. Luke shifted his gaze and his mom dragged his dad up and they left the band to their own devices, promising to be right outside if Luke needed anything. The second Alex got close enough he reached out and checked the drummer’s wrist. There was no evidence of Caleb’s stamp anywhere.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What was that?” Alex asked, concerned. Luke shrugged as he let Reggie and Alex snuggle closer to him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just checking... “ Luke said. The girl took a tentative step forward, like she was unsure of what to do. Introducing herself she said,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello Luke, my name’s Rose. Bobby and I found you three behind the Orpheum.” Luke winced, not wanting to think about how painful that memory must be. He glanced around the room, at the very solid and very much </span>
  <em>
    <span>alive</span>
  </em>
  <span> people surrounding him. Frowning he asked,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But no one died?” Bobby shook his head,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You fuckers cut it close though. I’d hate to think how shitty your replacements would’ve been if I had to hold auditions.” Reggie snorted in a fit of laughter,</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Please. You’d never be able to replace </span>
  <em>
    <span>us</span>
  </em>
  <span> Bobby, you love us too much.” Luke tensed, remembering Trevor Wilson from his dream. Alex started playing with his hair though, soft patterns that Luke started to relax into. He dismissed the thought of </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> Bobby, </span>
  <em>
    <span>their</span>
  </em>
  <span> Bobby, betraying them while they were alive and relaxed into his boyfriend’s(?) soft touch. He reveled in how warm Alex was, when he was a ghost everything just felt the same… cold. Alex’s bodily heat was a nice change from the constant freezing he used to feel.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So Luke, did you dream about anything interesting in your coma?” Alex asked with a flirtatious eyebrow wriggle.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yeah,” Luke said, securing his arm around Alex’s shoulders. “You could say that…” He said trailing off as soft melodies played through his head. Maybe everything really was just a dream… but the music? Luke could make </span>
  <em>
    <span>sure</span>
  </em>
  <span> that the music was real.</span>
</p>
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